The invention relates to an integrated optical device comprising at least one substrate for planar waveguides or strip waveguides, in particular for use in optical communications. Planar wave-guides may be manufactured from flat light-conducting layers. Light-conducting strips (i.e. strip waveguides) may be manufactured analogously to the manufacture of the conductors of a printed circuit board.
It is known (for example from European Pat. No. 0,052,901) to arrange mirror-image halves of optical waveguides in the surfaces of two substrates. The surfaces are subsequently attached to each other to form a circular waveguide which can earily be connected to glass fibers for telecommunication. These optical waveguides form networks in just one plane.